


Strange Operations

by evilwriter37



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: AU, Gen, Jim!whump, Surgery, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:40:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25808251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilwriter37/pseuds/evilwriter37
Summary: AU where Vendel isn't interrupted from pulling the shard out of Jim's chest.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 102





	Strange Operations

The bone tasted stale in Jim’s mouth. Panic swarmed through him with wings of heat. He struggled against Callista, but she was stronger than him, especially now with the shard in his chest. Pain flared through him with every movement. Vendel was going to take it out. But Jim didn’t understand. Merlin had told him there was no cure. What would this do to him? 

Vendel approached with the forceps. Jim struggled.

“Hey, stop it!” Callista snapped. “We’re trying to help you.”

Help? But they didn’t even know what this would do to him! Would it just make the corruption reach his heart faster? 

Vendel gripped the shard with the forceps. Jim froze up, braced himself. This was going to hurt. 

He bit down hard on the bone as Vendel began to pull. He screamed through his teeth, hands clutching into fists. His body convulsed as he pulled harder, as the shard began to slide slowly out of his chest. It was pain like nothing he’d ever felt before. 

The bone cracked as the shard came free. Or… most of it. There was the sound of metal snapping. Jim screamed louder, and the bone splintered in his mouth, then fell to pieces. He spit out the pieces as Vendel held the broken shard aloft. He panted. Each breath felt like a knife stabbing through him.

“Th-there’s still a piece in there,” Jim said weakly. He didn’t know what to do. His head was swimming. His eyesight was blurry. He tried to sit up, but Callista still held him down. 

“Then we’re not done yet,” Vendel said calmly. He put the forceps and the shard down, reached for a smaller set of tools. Jim felt like he was going to faint. 

“No. No please.” Jim reached out a hand, trying to stop Vendel. He was done. He didn’t want anymore pain. 

Callista wrestled his hand down. It was rather easy with how weak the pain was making him. She leaned her weight on his shoulders, held down his arms. His legs were free, but Vendel steered clear of those, so Jim couldn’t kick, even if he wanted to.

The tools dug into the hole in Jim’s chest. He screamed, twisted his head, wishing he had someone there to comfort him, but as much as he knew these trolls in the present, they didn’t know him. They just saw him as an outsider. He wished Claire was there. He didn’t know what she was doing right now, but he wanted her there. He felt like he was surrounded by strangers, and it was as frightening as the anguish was, maybe more so. 

Jim could  _ feel  _ Vendel digging around in his chest, and oh, it hurt! He didn’t struggle though, because he didn’t want to make him mess up. That would just hurt him even more. 

Jim lost his breath as he faded in and out of consciousness. Everything looked black, but he could still feel the pain, could hear Callista telling him it was almost done. He hoped she was right. 

And then the shard was free. Jim heaved a huge breath, his head rolling to the side. It still hurt to breathe, but it felt like it was easier to do so. The shard was gone, but the corruption from it… he could still feel it inching towards his heart. 

“It… it didn’t work,” he panted.

“Nonsense,” Vendel said. “The shard is gone.”

“No, the corruption,” Jim said. “It’s dark magic.” He looked down at the hole in his chest, but seeing it made him nearly black out. He laid his head back down, closed his eyes. Callista let go of him.

Vendel peered at the hole in Jim’s chest, then at the individual shards. “It appears you’re right.  _ That  _ is something I have no cure for.”

Jim felt like crying in despair, but trolls couldn’t cry. He looked to Callista. She just shrugged. 

“You’re strong, kid. You’ll get through this.”

Jim hoped that she was right. 


End file.
